1981 Spaceport News Summary Updates From Previous Summaries And Else Following up from the 1980 Spaceport News Summary and the puzzle question about the Saturn V damper arm, Alan Littlefield provided the following: “I can’t recall who told me (one of the old Apollo guys), but the short answer was that the original damper proved ineffective and a new damper was designed for the forward attach point. I suspect the lower point ended up at a node.” Thanks a bunch Alan! Following up from the 1980 Spaceport News Summary, since the SRB recovery ships were mentioned and shown in tht Summary, here is it what happened to Freedom Star and Liberty Star after the Shuttle Program. From Wikipedia, “…On August 21, 2012, NASA agreed to transfer the Liberty Star to the U.S. Department of Transportation for use as a training vessel at the United States Merchant Marine Academy. The ship arrived at Kings Point, New York, on September 13, 2012, with formal turnover occurring on September 14. After being refit for training duty, which included additional berthing, she was renamed TV Kings Pointer, the fifth vessel of the Academy to carry that name. The transfer agreement stipulated that NASA could again use the vessel on future missions if she was available.” From Wikipedia, “…On September 28, 2012, Freedom Star was transferred to the U.S. Department of Transportation's James River Reserve Fleet for potential use as a training vessel.” From the Searfarers International Union website, “The SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education (PHC) has a new training vessel. She is the…” United States Naval Ship “…USNS Freedom Star, a National Defense Reserve Fleet vessel on loan from the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD)… …The Freedom Star was built in 1981 by Atlantic Marine Shipyard, Fort George Island, Florida and was delivered as UTC Freedom. Her virtually identical sister ship (also owned by MARAD), the MV Liberty Star, was built in 1980 by the same manufacturer and was delivered as the UTC Liberty…”. From the United Stated Merchant Marine Academy website, “…The United States Maritime Administration acquired both vessels in and around 2012 and re-assigned them as training vessels. Kings Pointer (formally Liberty Star) finished her conversions and arrived at the Academy in 2013 time frame. Freedom Star still maintains her original name and is the training vessel at the Seafarers International Union training school in Piney Point MD…” Page 1 Freedom Star, Post Shuttle Kings Pointer From The January 2, 1981, Spaceport News The headline is “Shuttle Moved To Pad 39-A”. Part of the article reads “The countdown has truly begun. Beginning at 8 a.m. Monday, the ticking away of seconds until first launch of the revolutionary Space Shuttle became almost audible. At that moment, the STS-1 stack began its movement from the V AB to launch pad 39A… …At a ceremony to observe the rollout, about 5,000 visitors heard Center Director Dick Smith, prime crewmembers John Young and Bob Crippen and other dignitaries praised the efforts of all involved with the Space Shuttle program. Also present for the ceremony Page 2 were former KSC Directors Kurt Debus and Lee Scherer, several political figures and nearly 200 reporters from all over the globe…” Also in this issue; “First Shuttle-carried Experiments Will Study ·Earth”. In part, the article reads “What minerals lie undetected beneath the earth's crust and where are they? How dense is carbon monoxide in the troposphere?... ... Scientists hope to find ways to answer these questions with five of the six experiments aboard the second Space Shuttle mission. The experiments are part of a payload sponsored by the Office of Space and Terrestrial Applications (OSTA). Most of them will be aboard a "pallet" tucked away in the Orbiter's cargo bay… …The experiment pallet, recently moved to the first cargo test stand at Kennedy Space Center, will now undergo final checkout and precargo systems integration. The caption for the following photo is “The OSTA experiment pallet is checked in a mockup of the orbiter cargo bay within the Operations and Checkout Building.” Page 3 More in this issue; “Work Begins On Light Tank”. A portion of the articles reads “Assembly of the Space Shuttle's first lightweight external propellant tank began in November at the Marshall Space Flight Center's Michaud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, La… …The first lightweight tank is expected to be completed and ready for delivery in the summer of 1982, in time to support the Space Shuttle's fifth launch. The modified tank will be 6,000 pounds lighter than its predecessor, and will therefore increase the Shuttle's payload-carrying capability by about the same amount… …To accomplish this weight reduction, the External Tank has been redesigned to incorporate the results of a recently completed structural test program. The program showed that it is possible to reduce the thickness of many of the aluminum skin panels without affecting the integrity of the tank….” And another article; “Mobile Cargo Home Tested”. In part, the article reads “…Looking very strange indeed, the space age canister actually is a moveable home for payloads and is also a painstakingly engineered airtight container that precisely duplicates the interior dimensions of the orbiter's cargo bay. It provides the clean environment necessary while orbiter payloads are being moved around the space center. Horizontal Page 4 payloads, for example, are verified in the Operations and Checkout Building, then are moved to the Orbiter Processing Facility for installation. Vertical payloads, verified at the Vertical Processing Facility, must be moved to the launch pad for installation via the Rotating Service Structure…” “PAYLOAD CANISTER is transported out of VAB (left) to Pad A, where it underwent tests (right)” The following, also in this issue, is a neat photo of Bob Crippen in the White Room in the VAB; the lesser known of the White Rooms, versus the one at the Pad. Page 5 “Astronaut Bob Crippen, prime crew pilot for the first Space Shuttle mission, enters the orbiter Columbia during Shuttle Integrated Tests in the Vehicle Assembly Building. The tests were conducted before the rollout to the pad, and included four simulated space missions.” And finally in this issue; “Smith Hosts Noel Coffee”. This is the first time I recall seeing this feature in the Spaceport News. Looks like this tradition started in December 1979 according to the article! In part, the article reads “Many KSC employees took time a week before Christmas to share a little holiday cheer with Center Director Richard Smith and his staff. About 1,500 people attended one of three coffees held in the Headquarters Building, Operations and Checkout Building or Launch Control Center lobbies… … The custom for the get together was started last year, and was so warmly received that this year invitations also were extended to the 700 KSC retirees from the area…” Page 6 “Center Director Richard G. Smith (center) greets friends at a Christmas Coffee in the Mission Briefing Room of the O&C.” The January 16, 1981, Spaceport News This is the headline; “Plugs Pulled' During On-pad Power Test”. In part, the article reads “After more than 40 hours of tests and preparations, the spaceship's systems were operating independently, the umbilicals had been dropped, the astronauts were in their seats, and the launch command was initiated… …The GOX (gaseous oxygen) vent arm was retracted two minutes and 50 seconds before T-0 (simulated take-off). A T-0, tail service masts on both sides of the orbiter, that carry outside supplies of hydrogen, oxygen and other services, were disconnected. And, at the same time, the arm that collects vented hydrogen and transfers it harmlessly to the burning pond was disconnected… …Umbilicals tying the spaceship to ground services were disconnected through a combination of ground pyrotechnics and mechanical eject devices. The test was termed a “complete success”… The following photo was also on the first page. The caption for the photo reads “TECHNICIANS INSTALL elements of the Columbia's avionics system shortly after the Space Shuttle's move to the pad.” The photo in itself is rather interesting as it shows workers at the Orbiter 50-1 door, with a temporary access board on top of the LH2 TSM. Page 7 Normal access to the 50-1 door is through the Rotating Service Structure (RSS), which is not extended in the photo. Does anyone know what is going on in this photo, as in, why is access to the Orbiter being done this way rather than via the RSS? Also in this issue; “Shuttle Flight Crews Briefed On Slide To Safety”. A portion of the article reads “Both the primary and backup astronaut crews for the first Space Shuttle flight got some valuable experience at the pad here last week. The four, plus other astronauts and some ground support personnel, were briefed on the use of the emergency pad escape system, known as the "slidewire.”… Page 8 “ASTRONAUT JOHN YOUNG climbs into slidewire basket, joining Shuttle pilot Bob Crippen during emergency egress training.” And one last article in this issue; “Holiday Visitors Crowd Center”. In part, the article reads “…On Dec. 29, the day STS-1 (Columbia) took its slow but majestic crawl to the pad, an estimated 20,376 people crowded through the Visitors Center. That was 4,000 more than the previous high mark set in the Christmas season of 1972. The next day promptly became the second highest day on record, with an attendance figure of 18,255…”. This photo accompanied the article, with lots of vehicles at the Visitors Center! Page 9 From The February 13, 1981, Spaceport News The headline article is “Shuttle Prepared For Flight Readiness Test”.